Thanks to Bonnier Books UK and NetGalley for ARC.

This gripping thriller centres on a typical Scottish middle class family living in an idyllic village on the picturesque if faded Ayrshire coast. When son Rory fails to return from walking Bonnie the lab, Gordon and Sarah are beside themselves. They are well supported by family, friends and neighbours as they mount a frantic search, but as hours turn to days and weeks it becomes harder to hold onto hope.
This devastating book unfolds slowly and exposes the reader to all the mixed emotions, the false hope, the increasingly desperate leads followed, the blank walls of bureaucracy and the agonies of uncertainty.
It's not right to say any more about plot, but as you'd expect from McIlvanney prize winner McIlvanney, this is tautly plotted and he takes the reader with him every step of the way.

Devastating and will stay with you.

'The Good Father' is a hugely powerful story with strewn with ethical conundrums that will make you question what you would do in similar circumstances, god forbid that they would ever happen to anyone in real life.

Gordon and Sarah's 7 year old son Rory disappears from the peaceful safe beach directly in front of their house. Gordon was meant to be watching him but in the five minutes that he looked away, Rory is taken, simply vanished without a trace. They live in a secluded peaceful village where everyone knows each other, surely someone will have seen what has happened to poor Rory? The police and local residents carry out thorough searches everywhere on land and in the ocean, desperate to find a trace of him but to no avail.

Naturally, Gordon and Sarah's world is shattered, they don't know where to turn or how they will move on from this life-defining moment. They meet other parents whose children have disappeared in similar awful circumstances, bonded in the most tragic of ways, combining their knowledge to find any lead that might help them find their children. When there's the hint that Rory may be elsewhere in the country, Gordon jumps at the chance to take action, desperate to do something to heal his broken family.

Up to this point, it is already a brilliant piece of crime fiction that glues you to the page. As you'll see in other reviews, something then happens that turns the book into something pretty unusual and puts all of Gordon's previous worries into perspective.

Liam McIlvanney is a new writer to me although I had heard lots of positive things about his writing - and based on 'The Good Father' he's definitely an author that I will pick up in the future.

7 year old Rory disappears from a beach in front of his parents house in a remote part of Scotland. Despite the best efforts of the police and his parents he is never found. So for 7 long years Gordon and Sarah carry on their lives, never quite giving up hope.
From a fairly low key start, the story turns dramatically, and becomes an unbearably tense thriller about how far a parent will go to protect their family.
There are many unexpected twists on the way and this one of the books that could easily be ruined by a plot point giveaway, so all I'm going to say is that The Good Father is clever, thought provoking and difficult to put down. Brilliantly written by a master of the genre, you won't be disappointed.

The book is about every parent’s worst nightmare, it covers all the emotions a parent could have when their child goes missing.
It’s almost like two books in one I can’t say too much or it will give it away but each aspect of this book was thrilling, emotional and so very good to read.
Full of suspense, twists and turns that keep you guessing.
A fantastic read and gets you thinking, what would I do?

@randomthingstours @liammcilvanneybooks @zaffrebooks #thegoodfather #bookstagram

When you read a lot of crime novels they can get a little formulaic. I never stop enjoying them but it gets harder to be surprised. I can say that Liam McIlvanney managed to surprise me quite a lot during this novel.
When seven year old Rory goes missing on the beach very near their home his parents Sarah and Gordon are beside themselves, desperate for answers and trying to never give hope of him being found alive. They, along with everybody else in their small community are under suspicion and they understandably struggle. But time moves on, new children are born and they have started to accept that their life will never be the same again. Still hoping, still looking, despite the case being shelved by the police.
It is in the second half of the book that I realised I was reading something totally different. It is really difficult to say why, but this novel concerns more than a missing child. It is chilling to read a fictionalised account of something that is quite likely happening somewhere in the world.
These are characters I wasn’t really keen on even though I was sympathetic. I felt the only one I got to know was Gordon, and at times I felt I would have struggled to like him even if events had been different. It feels strange judging actions because how do you judge somebody who has gone through too much? What the book does do is show the lack of support and neglect from people who could help.
I need to look at the other books by this author. This was a fascinating read, that made me think about things I had never considered before.

Wow! What a book! My first ever read by this wonderful author and definitely not my last. I was hooked from the very beginning right up until the end and I loved every minute of it. Liam Mcllvanney is a a superb storyteller and I can’t wait to read all his other books now.
The fact that it was set in Scotland (where I live) and lots of places I know were mentioned, was an added bonus.
I highly recommend this book, it’s brilliant!

This is one of those books where you pick it up to read a couple of chapters and get completely lost and lose track of time.

Gordon and Sarah Rutherford are living an idyllic life, successful careers, a beloved 7 year old son Rory, a pet black lab, a house on the beach. While Sarah is working as a solicitor, Gordon is in charge of his son, but after being distracted by his academic research, realises his son is missing. He was last seen on the beach, playing with their dog, but when Bonnie the lab returns with a sandal in her mouth, Gordon and Sarah realise the worst has happened. Their son is gone.

Eventually teaming up with another father grieving for his lost son, and a former police officer, Gordon tries to uncover what happened to Rory, trying his best to keep hope alive, but all roads seem to lead to dead ends, and the frustration and hopelessness pour out of the pages.

The novel is an intense study of a family's grief, and a father's guilt, detailing the ends Gordon will go to to make amends for the loss of his son, and to protect his family. A mild-mannered academic, Gordon has a logical approach to his actions, and the moves he makes in the novel - while counter to his outer appearances - are completely believable and understandable.

Opening with the loss of their son, Rory, the novel spans the years that follow, and the grief, loss and anger play out in full intense cinematic glory. The novel is so beautifully written, with and ended that is unexpected, and yet satisfying. An excellent read.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an arc of 'The Good Father'. A well written, well thought out book about a missing child. Although the subject matter is distressing it's a great thriller and family drama with secrets, tension and twists. Worth the read.

An excellent read which held my complete attention throughout. I was. very unsure where and how the plot would draw to an end but it certainly did not disappoint. If I had a complaint it would be the lack of some character development. It was definitely a plot driven thriller and would have benefited from plumping out the people involved. Still worth a five star review.

I often feel that domestic thrillers are lacking in depth in some way. Not so this book. Full of emotions, tricky relationships and heartbreaking scenes this is a difficult read at times. Congratulations to the author for making the story such a compulsive read.
Recommended
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

The Good Father is a evocative tale of loss, grief, love and the guilt associated with moving on. While this book is hard to read in places, it is worth it. .

In The Good Father a seven year old boy named Rory disappears from playing on a beach. When he's dog returns but Rory doesn't his parents naturally begin to panic. Despite a extensive search by police and the local community there is no sign of Rory. From there the twists in the plot start to arrive and the relationship between the parents in my eyes begins to disintegrate. The parents reactions and actions felt strange to me and I was constantly surprised. It's a tense thriller with twists and turns that keep the reader riveted.

I really wanted to love this book. The entire synopsis had me so excited to read it but unfortunately it wasn’t going to be what I’d hoped for. To read that Val McDermid found it “heart stopping” really raised my hopes. Val is a brilliant writer.

The book started off really well, I was getting immersed and eager to keep going but then it all fell down like a house of cards. I see some early reviews give this 5 stars so it obviously appeals to some. Books are so subjective though, not everybody is going to love a book.

One of my issues with this book is how wordy it is. There is scene upon scene where paragraphs and more paragraphs are extensive detail of very mundane things. It’s too much. Unnecessary “padding”. Over telling. Irrelevant words. Instead of engaging you and enhancing the plot it gets so tedious. A famous Author one day said to me “show, don’t tell” in relation to this with writing.

My other issue is huge plot gaps. I won’t put spoilers in here but when major events occurred many are just glossed over. At critical points in the story so much could be explored and been so exciting, yet nothing. Minimal detail. You are left hanging, I was thinking that these “holes” would be explained later in the book but then they were not.

I was desperate for questions to be answered! Yet too much detail on the mundane. The wrong way around. You are left feeling let down. There was SO much opportunity to dig deep into these significant plot moments.

I was able to skim read lots of this book yet miss nothing. I don’t need or enjoy multiple paragraphs or even pages detailing some minor moment. Less is more in this case. I wish it was. I wish I’d been a beta reader for this one as I was rooting for it to go places.

You’d also be at one point on a timeline then suddenly it jumps forward in time but what’s in-between that really matters and you crave is not there. There is one specific part of this plot that should have been explored in this book that was so important but we get nothing. To be honest this baffled me. I don’t get it.

So the start had promise and the end from 85% on threw in some stronger scenes but again these key events got me excited to then be too short, little detail and just…lacking. The ending felt very rushed with a lot of unrealistic scenes thrown in. The book needed a switch flipped. For the key events to be fleshed out and more added and the mundane stuff kept short and to the point.

You know those scenes where just doing an everyday task becomes multiple paragraphs and if you gloss over those you miss nothing and still get the point? Lots of those. I really mean lots. If I wasn’t so drained I’d insert an example for you to see what I mean.

The characters were very one dimensional for me. Significant characters were vacant and I got no sense of who they were. Main players outside of the “good Father” were impossible to connect to or form an opinion on. To Ruth’s like or dislike.

I really wanted this to be good, to get better, so much but it just missed the mark. I didn’t want to end up rating it this low. Too many plot holes and things that would not happen in the real world in here too.

I’m so frustrated 😩 after getting to the end of this. I am even frustrated writing this review! It had so much potential with the story. A combination of rushed and empty scenes where focus and detail were needed then the overkill of detail on the boring and irrelevant things. Flip that around and you’d have a corker of a book. Sigh…

I can only give it 2 stars 🌟🌟 I didn’t hate it but it left me very dissatisfied as a reader. It’s rare I skim read large parts of a book but I realised I missed nothing. I sincerely would have loved to have beta read this book.

Well, this may have been the first of Liam McIlvanney's books I have read, but I am pretty safe in saying that it will not be the last. The Good Father is everything a good thriller should be - tense, emotional and full of shocking twists that left me a tough blindsided. It is, in a word, fabulous.

This is the story of Gordon and Sarah Rutherford, two happily married professionals, with as good a life as you can imagine. Until it's not. One fateful afternoon, their precious son, Rory, is taken from the beach outside their home and from that point onward, the only certainty in their lives is that nothing will be the same again. Plunged into a kind of waking nightmare, they are faced with the worst of all situations, and whilst it is fair to say that they do not take the situation lying down, pursuing every possible lead as far as they are able, there comes a time when all the accusations die down, and all the leads take them to a dead end, that the only option left is to move on. And it is in moving on that everything changes once again. And I don't want to say too much more about that as I feel it verges on the spoiler territory.

This is a really thought provoking piece of fiction, exploring what is perhaps the worst of fears of any loving parent - that they lose their child, be it by fair means or foul. Liam McIlvanney manages to take that nightmare and give it words, agency even, bringing the emotional turmoil of Gordon and Sarah to life on the page. Whilst the story is told primarily from Gordon's perspective, the father who feels he failed his son by, on that fateful day, allowing him to play alone whilst he focused on his work instead, the author conveys Sarah's pain with as just as much visceral impact through Gordon's observations.

The story explores that sacrifices that a parent might make on behalf of their children. Of the guilt that they can carry with them when any kind of tragedy befalls them, and the lengths they would go to in order to try and make things right. And Gordon has to go a very long way to protect his own family from more tragedy. There are scenes in the book that are hard to read. Some from the strength of the emotions that are conveyed - guilt, fear, anger - and some from the very nature of what comes to pass. It definitely made me think about how I might react in certain situations, whether I would make the same choices that Gordon and Sarah made, and, whilst I like to think not, guilt is a very strong motivator, as is love.

I had mixed feelings about both Gordon and Sarah. At a certain level, I felt for them. For their situation, their loss. It would be hard not to. But then this also made me think. Because of the way Liam McIlvanney has framed this story, we think we know what is happening, what has happened, and so we would not naturally condemn them for what has happened, and yet, to a lesser extent than you might expect, there is that consideration of how others in the community might race to judgement, to make assumptions about guilt and innocence, a theme which is regularly revisited throughout the book. I appreciated how the author has used Gordon's career, as a Professor of Literature, to explore certain texts which give voice to his state of mind, his personal situation, a kind of art imitating life imitating art. No doubt drawing on his own professional experience, Liam MciLvanney uses this tool perfectly, elevating the story beyond the typical guilty Dad feels bad kind of scenario we are used to reading.

And the real thing that made this work for me is that, just as I felt that there is little left that can surprise you in Sarah and Gordon's story, the author still manages to lob a few curveballs, hand grenades almost, and blow everything I thought I knew right out of the water. And, in a strange way, whilst it might at first seem a touch fantastical, when you take into account events of recent years, the plausibility of it all seems that fraction more possible. Did the story need it? Some might argue not but, as Gordon himself observes, it does at least bring him closure.

If you enjoy an emotionally thought provoking , leaning towards dark story (and warning - the book does include some animal deaths), with some very hard hitting themes that are handled with the utmost sensitivity, and characters who will leave you both exasperated by and heartbroken for, then this book is highly recommended. Time to go and check out the author's back catalogue.

This is an intriguing read and not the easiest story to review and unpack as this is almost a book of 2 parts. Of 2 differing stories made 1.

It’s starts very much as a slow burner when a child goes missing. It’s a tale then of a broken family and its battles ahead.. at around 40/45% I began to wander and think about where the book would go.

Where it does go is where I thought it might but its a good surprise and the 2nd half of this emotive book becomes very suspenseful with a constant feeling of what’s coming next.

It’s extremely well written., The style is infinitely readable and the end as it comes is well done:

A compelling and thoughtful read.

A well written, emotional read from the author about a young boy who goes missing and the effect on the family. It gripped me from the start and held me in suspense to the last page. My emotions have been totally wrung out after reading this excellent crafted, psychological thriller. The ending left me speechless,, totally unexpected and dramatic. I think this is the best work of the author I have had the privilege to read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

The Good Father by Liam McIlvanney
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller

The Good Father is a tense, emotionally charged thriller set in Glasgow — blending sharp procedural detail with the raw emotional heart of a father’s worst nightmare. McIlvanney delivers not just a murder mystery, but a haunting portrait of guilt, loyalty, and moral compromise.

It’s gritty, layered, and utterly human — with characters that feel real and a plot that keeps you second-guessing every turn. Perfect for fans of Scottish noir and complex crime fiction.

My only critique was the prose sometimes felt like the author had opened a thesaurus to get as many descriptive words into the book as he could. So much of that could have been peared back and the book would have been equallu enjoyable, for me anyway.

Expect:
🏙️ Glasgow grit & atmosphere
👨‍👦 Father-son dynamics
🔍 Police procedural meets emotional drama
🖋️ Sharp, intelligent writing

One of those thrillers that lingers long after you close the book — because it’s not just about crime… it’s about people.

This was a really gripping read, although it’s very emotive and dark. We follow a couple after their young is abducted from outside their home. Over the ensuing years, they try to rebuild their life, until, miraculously, their son is returned to them many years later. When he returns, they realise that life won’t go back to how it was, and start to realise that something has irrevocably changed in their son - and within themselves. It’s hard to read this without imagining yourself in their situation, whether you are a parent, aunt, uncle, or otherwise. It’s truly a family’s worst nightmare. The writing is compelling and fast-paced, and very character-driven. It was fascinating to compare the responses of those surrounding the tragedy, especially the parents, and then again their responses to the twists of events and happenings once their son returned, and the nightmare wasn’t quite over. I would absolutely recommend this to any fans of psychological thrillers - you won’t be able to put it down!

I enjoyed this book. I felt that it was well written and I enjoyed the plot. I did almost DNF early on in the book but I’m happy I carried on, I ended up really liking it.

At first, it seems McIlvanney is about to trod a well-worn path (albeit with style) when a young child goes missing in a small community. We have the fallout, the emotional angst, the seeded threads of possible vigilante justice... and then the book blindsides us when the missing boy returns. Where has he been? What has happened to him? Is he still the boy that his parents remembered? The agony of not knowing or of seeing your child grow into someone you don't recognise but still love is rendered in a chilling, noiresque twist that upends our understanding of this world and these people. And the book barrels along at pace following this, exploring how far we will go to protect our family, and what we are willing to lose on their behalf.

McIlvanney's deceptively easy prose helps with the excellent pacing of the novel, and his ability to emotionally engage the reader is clear from the outset, but shows its true power in the devastating finale. A superb novel that walks the line between commercial thriller and something with a little more on its mind, this is a book that will hit you where it hurts, emotionally, even if you've never been a parent yourself, never mind one put in such an impossible situation...